The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has lamented that more subscribers are dropping the voice call to embrace Over the Top (OTT) social media outfits like the Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, etc, saying that they have taken over the voice revenues.
Mr Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of ALTON, who stated this during a breakfast meeting organised by the Nigerian Information and Communications Reporters’ Association (NITRA) over the weekend in Lagos, said the activities of the social media operators have greatly eroded the revenue of the legacy operators.
According to him, since the OTT operators do not have any regulatory obligations, no taxes and no operational levy, that there is the need to revisit the suspended Data Floor Price in order to save the telecoms industry. He said that the internet service providers have been badly hurt by the non-determination of a floor price as they are left to compete at prices below their costs.
He lamented that the demand for data has increased following a rapid growth of mobile phone subscribers into the country as there had been an influx of smartphones and other data consuming gadgets into the Nigerian market in recent years, adding that mobile data revenue is growing while the growth of mobile voice revenue is declining.
Adebayo, who spoke on the theme, ‘Challenges of Telecommunications Operators in a Recessed Economy’ said government must make urgent policies to make the telecoms sector remain viable.
The organisation, therefore, called on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to review the Data Floor Price that was suspended, asserting that this was necessary to save the industry.
While saying that the telecoms sector is going through a lot of challenges, Adebayo stated that it was a matter of great concern the current state of health of the industry, with the devaluation in the value of the naira, to lack of access to foreign exchange to the issue of data floor price.
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